This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I applaud Rep. Jason Chaffetz' effort to keep more people out of federal prisons and save the government and the taxpayers money ("Chaffetz unveils prison program to reduce recidivism and lower crime," Tribune, May 31).
But I have a plan that would accomplish the same thing and be even more cost-effective. My plan would not require the building of more halfway houses, purchase of monitoring equipment or hiring people to monitor those monitors.
Legalize marijuana. This would free up the federal court system, empty both state and federal prisons and keep a lot of young lives from being ruined with an arrest record.
Jeff Stickley
Murray